At home with Indians - between spices and gods
The city’s South Asian community has its roots in the grid of streets branching off Serangoon Road. Spruced-up handicraft shops aimed at tourists are packed into the Little India Arcade opposite the more gritty wet market of the Tekka Centre. The best Indian restaurants lie along Race Course Road, while a bit of exploring will unearth theatres, a Bengali temple and a hand-operated spice mill. Dunlop Street links the main arteries of Serangoon Road and Jalan Besar; it’s the heart of backpacker land, with plenty of cheap bars and a few hostels melding with the Indian bustle. Little India MRT station on the Northeast line has an exit that opens onto the Tekka Centre market.
The lively Zhujiao (or Tekka Centre) Market, on the corner of Buffalo and Serangoon roads, is an entertaining spot. Spices can be ground to your own requirements. Upstairs is a maze of shops and stalls; the wet market is beyond the hawker centre, west along Buffalo Road. Opposite the market on Serangoon Road is Little India Arcade, another Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) project. These handicraft shops are a great place for Indian knick-knacks: leather sandals, bags, spices, incense, saris and textiles. There is also a food court. The closely packed shops in the surrounding network of streets house astrologers, tailors, spice merchants, jewellers and shops selling Bollywood DVDs and Hindi CDs. Walking up Serangoon Road, take a right at Cuff Road to see Little India’s last spice mill (closed 1300-1400), in a blue and yellow shophouse. It’s hard to miss the chugging of the mill, let alone the rich smells of the spices.
The Sri Veeramaka Liamman Temple (Serangoon Rd, closed 1230-1600) is dedicated to Kali, the ferocious incarnation of Siva’s wife. You should walk clockwise around the temple hall and, for good luck, an odd number of times. The principal black image of Kali in the temple hall is flanked by her sons, Ganesha and Murugan.
Further up Serangoon Road is another Indian temple, Sri Perumal (daily 0630-1200, 1800-2100), with its high gopuram sculptured with five manifestations of Vishnu. For the best experience, visit during the two-day festival of Thaipusam – usually held in January – celebrating the birthday of Murugan, one of Kali’s sons where devotees pierce their tongues and cheeks with metal skewers.
Further north is the Buddhist Sakayamuni Buddha Gaya Temple, or Temple of One Thousand Lights (366 Race Course Rd, daily 0730-1645; remove shoes before entering). Across the road is the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist Leong San See Temple (Dragon Mountain Temple) with its carved entrance (where you don’t have to remove your shoes)....
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